All Hope is Gone
All Hope Is Gone is the fourth studio album by American metal band Slipknot. Released on August 20, 2008 by Roadrunner Records, the album was published in two versions: the standard album in a Compact Disc case and a special edition packaged in a six-fold digipak containing three bonus tracks, a 40 page booklet, and a bonus DVD with a documentary of the album's recording. Preparation for the album began in 2007, while recording started in February 2008 in the band's home state of Iowa. All Hope Is Gone is Slipknot's first studio album since 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Before the album's launch, Slipknot released a series of promotional images and audio samples from the album through various websites. All Hope Is Gone is considered the band's most eclectic-sounding album, incorporating elements from their previous three. All Hope Is Gone includes their "brutal" edge, such as the track "All Hope Is Gone", reminiscent of songs such as "(sic)" from their debut self-titled album; slow burning, "trippy" elements such as "Gehenna", reminiscent of "Skin Ticket" from their second album Iowa; and acoustics ("Snuff"), which was first introduced on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Lyrically, All Hope Is Gone centers on themes such as anger, disaffection, obsession, and the music industry. The album name also features a more prominent focus on politics than their previous albums. Slipknot promoted All Hope Is Gone on a world tour and at the Mayhem Festival. Generally well received by critics, the album reached the top position on nine record charts worldwide, including the Billboard 200—the first Slipknot album to do so. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA on the 10th of August 2010 for shipments in excess of 1,000,000 albums in the United States. It is the final studio album released by the band to include two longtime members: bassist and founding member Paul Gray, who was found dead in an Iowa hotel on May 24, 2010, almost two years after the release of All Hope Is Gone, and drummer Joey Jordison, who left the group in December 2013. Recording Preparation for All Hope Is Gone began in 2007. Drummer Joey Jordison explained, "I've told them to demo whatever they can so we've got as much material to choose from as possible." In February 2008, Slipknot entered the Sound Farm Studio in Jamaica, Iowa with producer Dave Fortman. All Hope Is Gone is the band's first album written and recorded in their home state of Iowa. Bassist Paul Gray explained that the band decided to record in Iowa because there were too many distractions in Los Angeles, where production of their previous albums had taken place. The band also stated that being close to home was good for their mindset; vocalist Corey Taylor drove home every night to see his son. Unlike Slipknot's previous releases, the album's writing process involved all nine band members, who wrote over 30 songs. Jordison commented, "I have to say that the band is at its peak; everyone—I mean everyone—is now completely involved in the writing process, and it's a beautiful thing." Taylor felt the writing process had some problems, but also noted that the creation of every Slipknot album has had conflict and that the band has come to embrace it after realizing that the conflict helps to bring out their creativity. Taylor and guitarist Jim Root paired up with Sid Wilson, performing on keyboards, and percussionist Shawn Crahan to work on "oblique, arty pieces". Taylor also experimented with tracking in an old well, stating, "There was this natural reverb to it that was just intense." According to Crahan none of the experimental tracks made it onto the album. However, one of them, "Til We Die", appears as a bonus track on the album's special edition along with "Child Of Burning Time" and the similarly experimental Bloodstone Mix of "Vermillion Pt. 2". The track "Sulfur" was the first combined effort of Jordison and Root, who wrote the song in one evening. Feeling discontent over the record's production process, Root said, "it felt a little bit rushed. And it felt like we were trying to do things just to appease a schedule, which I didn't really like." Root was particularly disappointed with the record's producer, Dave Fortman, and said, "Dave Fortman really helped me appreciate Rick Rubin as a producer. Fortman wasn't able to get nine people together on the same page and, to me, that's the most important thing in making a Slipknot record." Conversely, Jordison said, "It's finally the record that I've wanted Slipknot to sound like." He went on to compliment Fortman's ear for tone, and considered All Hope Is Gone to be the band's best album. All Hope Is Gone was mixed by Colin Richardson in Miloco's The Engine Room studio in the United Kingdom. Promotion performing at the Mayhem Festival as part of the All Hope Is Gone World Tour.|alt=A man plays guitar on a major stage set wearing a black suit and a mask that resembles black and white makeup.]] Rumors that Slipknot would be recording and touring All Hope Is Gone without their trademark masks circulated after band members appeared unmasked during performances with various side-projects. However, Shawn Crahan dismissed these rumors in an interview on The Sauce. Bassist Paul Gray elaborated that the band would return with a new image; "It'll still be Slipknot," he stated, "but we're gonna upgrade, step things up a little." Beginning April 1, 2008, Slipknot's website displayed ten teasers to promote All Hope Is Gone. The first nine displayed the band in their purgatory masks, however, the final teaser featured a darkened photograph of the band with their new masks. Slipknot premiered their new masks on July 1, 2008 on Spinner.com; eight million people visited the website to view the masks on the first day. On June 15, 2008, a 30-second sample and cover art from the album's title track, "All Hope Is Gone", were made available on Amazon.com. The song began airplay the same day and on June 20, 2008, Roadrunner Records offered the track as a free download on their website. "All Hope Is Gone" was later released as a digital single. The second single from the album, "Psychosocial", began airplay on June 26, 2008 and was released as a digital single on July 7, 2008. Following the album's launch, "Dead Memories" was released as a digital single on December 1, 2008, along with an accompanying music video. The music video for "Sulfur", the album's fourth single, premiered on April 18, 2009, and the single was released on June 15, 2009. From August 17 through 19, 2008, Kerrang! magazine held six listening events across the United Kingdom which included a preview of the documentary supplied with the album's special edition, and free merchandise. On April 17, 2009, Roadrunner Records announced that the album would be released on vinyl on April 19, 2009, coinciding with Record Store Day. The album's cover art and track listing were released on July 8, 2008. Slipknot began its All Hope Is Gone World Tour the following day—the tour was their first since 2005. The band initially toured with the Mayhem Festival across the United States, through August 16, 2008. Afterward, Slipknot was scheduled to appear at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England, the Two Days a Week Festival in Austria, and the Area4 Festival in Germany. However, the European tour dates were canceled due to Jordison breaking his ankle. Slipknot performed at the Rock on the Range Festival on May 16 and 17, 2009 then headlined the Download Festival in England during the summer, the first time they had headlined the festival. Style and themes Musically, the album sees the band moving away from nu metal and focusing on a more standard metal sound,All Hope is Gone Review IGN. Prior to the album's release, Slipknot's members displayed interest in making All Hope Is Gone their heaviest album, which Joey Jordison affirmed saying, "It's going to be heavier than Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), but just as weird and as experimental." Corey Taylor reiterated this, describing All Hope Is Gone as a "very dark" combination of the band's two previous studio albums, Iowa and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). In All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot expands on their use of traditional song structures, acoustics, and solos that they introduced on their previous album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). The song "Snuff" is led by acoustic guitars and has been dubbed as Slipknot's "attempt at a power ballad", though it remains "dark and ominous". In an interview with Artistdirect, Shawn Crahan stated, "Everyone can feel the pain that's in there. It's not forced upon you. You have it in there innately." Slipknot also retained a metal edge reminiscent of their earlier work. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic wrote "Gematria (The Killing Name)" goes from "a cluster of cacophony" to "an onslaught of densely dark intricate riffs". Crahan compared it to the song "(sic)" from their debut album, explaining, "The technique and the style are very reminiscent of the old, brutal shit that we've done." Jim Kaz of IGN stated that the "swaggering, cock-rock groove and an anthemic chorus" of "Psychosocial" gives Slipknot the potential to reach out to new fans "without sacrificing a lick of intensity". Crahan stated he "loves" his parts of "Psychosocial", in which the band incorporates snare drums, reminiscent of "Before I Forget". He also cited "This Cold Black" as one of his favorite songs, saying that it has a "driving tempo and a lot of attitude". The track "Gehenna" incorporates elements of Slipknot's slower, more cerebral edge reminiscent of "Prosthetics" and "Purity" from their debut album, and "Skin Ticket" from Iowa. Crahan called it a "trippy song", explaining, "It's just somewhere we go." Corey Taylor explained that the phrase "All Hope Is Gone" is aimed at the fans' expectations of the band, further elaborating, "Just when you thought you had us figured out, give up all hope because you're never, ever going to." Throughout the album, Taylor incorporates a focus on politics in his lyrics, compared to Slipknot's previous albums. The opening track, ".execute.", features Taylor's response to former United States Vice President Spiro Agnew’s speech targeted at Vietnam War protesters. and the second track "Gematria (The Killing Name)" follows in the same vein. During an interview with Kerrang!, Taylor discussed the song's lyrical content, explaining, "There are a lot of people who are disguising politics as religion and dictating taste and turning it into policy. And that hurts me." Reviewing for IGN, Jim Kaz said that lyrically, "Gematria (The Killing Name)" gives the listener a "heaping dose of Corey Taylor's caustic bravado". On the track "Wherein Lies Continue", Taylor offers a "dressing down of the world as we know it", explaining, "It kinda goes up against any civilization that takes themselves way too seriously and where the 'leaders' are so pretentious that they think they are deemed to speak for the people." He also proclaimed, "It wouldn't be a Slipknot album if I didn't rag on the recording industry." On "Butcher's Hook", Taylor specifically targets "all those little emo boys", commenting, "People give us shit for wearing outfits, but all of those guys look exactly the same." Track listing All song written and composed by Slipknot. ;iTunes pre-order bonus track ;Special edition bonus tracks Chart positions Certifications Personnel Aside from their real names, members of the band are referred to by numbers zero through eight. |title= Biography|accessdate=2008-07-31 |work= Slipknot|publisher= Allmusic}} ;Slipknot *(#8) Corey Taylor – vocals *(#7) Mick Thomson – guitars *(#6) Shawn Crahan – custom percussion, backing vocals *(#5) Craig Jones – keyboard, samples, media *(#4) Jim Root – guitars *(#3) Chris Fehn – custom percussion, backing vocals *(#2) Paul Gray – bass, backing vocals *(#1) Joey Jordison – drums, percussions *(#0) Sid Wilson – turntables ;Production * Dave Fortman – producer * Jeremy Parker – engineering * Colin Richardson – mixer * Matt Hyde – mix engineering * Oli Wright – assistant engineering * Ted Jensen – mastering * Monte Conner – A&R * Cory Brennan – management * Jaison John – management assistant * Shawn Crahan – art direction, DVD director ;Production (continued) * Rick Roskin – US booking agent * John Jackson – international booking agent * Rob Shore – business management * P. R. Brown – photography, design * Chris Vrenna – additional production * Clint Walsh – additional production * Matt Sepanic – producer * Bionic Mastering – DVD authoring References External links * Official album website Category:2008 albums